A Call To Parents To Walk & Talk Character
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 5/11/03
"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven
are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying
tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that
deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth
discord among brethren." Proverbs 6:16-19
Danger, DANGER, DANGER! There is a character
crisis in America! Character and morals are crumbling in America. Moms and
dads, if you will stem the tide, you must walk and talk character daily in
your homes and guard against your child’s exposure to those with corrupt
character as mush as possible. Even if you do not have children or your
children are grown, you must walk and talk character before your friends,
neighbors and the on looking world.
Introduction
Hate and abomination are powerfully negative
words. As we begin this message I want to remind you of the meaning of
each of them. To hate means to intensely dislike or to have a great
aversion to. Abomination is extreme, loathing, hatred and
detestation.
In this passage God is characterized as hating
six things, yea, seven, and considering them abominable. In this
message we will only have time to look at the first two.
Focus
- A Proud Look vs. Humility -- verse 17
Likely this surprises some that "a proud look"
is the first on God’s hate list. However, pride is at the root of many
sins and is the precursor to destruction. We read in Proverbs 16:18
"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a
fall." Another related verse is Proverbs 18:12 "Before destruction
the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility."
Since this is true, we need to recognize what pride is.
Pride is having a high opinion of ones own worth and merit.
Pride is an attitude of haughtiness, conceitedness and contempt for
others. It is the epitome of self-centeredness. It is contrary to the
teachings of the Bible, which tell us we are to consider others better
than ourselves (Philippians 2:3; Romans 12:3)
We are told that in the perilous times of the last days
the key characteristic of people will be self-love. Perhaps the most
graphic illustration of contempt for other is what happened at the
Glenbrook North "powder puff" football game. Teenage girls were slapped,
punched, kicked, doused with paint, rolled in the mud, and made to eat
manure and more. Five girls ended up in the hospital, one with a broken
ankle and another who needed 10 stitches in her head. One girl who was
interviewed said she did not understand why everyone was making such a big
deal about things because "no one got killed."
At the root of this heinous behavior is pride, which
shows itself in contempt for others. Let it be known, God hates pride and
we should hate what God hates.
I submit to you that getting back to teaching,
believing and practicing the golden rule is what must be done! The
problem is, that many do not even know what the golden rule is – "Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you." The basis for this is
Luke
6:31 "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them
likewise." We were taught "the golden rule."
Following "the golden rule" is a demonstration of
humility! Humility is a character trait that is linked to blessing from
the Lord. Proverbs 22:4 "By humility and the fear of the
LORD are riches, and honour, and life." Parents must teach and
model humility and expose and reject pride in themselves and their
children.
Let’s move on to the next point…
- Lying Tongue vs. Truthfulness
We are living in times like those spoken of in Isaiah’s
day. "And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off:
for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter."
Isaiah 59:14
There was a day in this nation when a man’s word was
his bond, but those days are long gone. Lying permeates all levels of our
culture. Lying is one of the abominable evidences of the lack of character
that will punctuate the latter times. Paul described it to Timothy as
those speaking lies in hypocrisy (1 Timothy 4:2). That phrase means
to claim that something is true when they know it is a lie.
Many sins have been dummed down to in order to make
them more acceptable. Instead of calling a person a drunk they call them
an alcoholic. Instead of calling a sexually immoral person an adulterer or
an adulteress they call it having an affair. And instead of calling a
person who regularly lies a liar, they just stretched the truth, fib, or
put their "spin" on it.
Let me define what lying is. Lying refers to a person
who speaks falsehoods, knowingly and willingly, with an intention to
deceive others. Further, it may be with the intent to hurt the character
of another or flatter with an ulterior motive.
My friends, there is nothing more sacred than truth.
The Lord God Almighty is a God truth! Deuteronomy 32:4 says, "He
is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are
judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is
he."
While the Lord God is the author of truth, remember who
the Father of lies is. It is the devil! He is the father of lies (John
8:44). Beloved, listen. There is nothing that makes a person more
devil-like than lying. However, lying is popular and particularly
fashionable among youth 12 to 15 years old according to a survey done for
the YMCA in 1999. The survey found that most younger American teens say
that they lie to avoid hurting their parents, to avoid punishment, or
because "everyone does it," the poll reveals. The poll said that, in an
age when children have less supervision, many learn their values from
friends, TV and their own observations but not as often from parents,
churches and schools, as parents hope or believe. Why? There are too many
Sunday morning Christians. Christianity is not lived at home. There are no
family devotions and communication between parents and children is nearly
absent.
There’s more. Michael Josephson, founder and president
of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, told the Associated Press that they
conducted a study of 8,600 students’ grades 9 through 12 and found these
results:
7 in 10 students
admitted cheating on a test at least once within the past year.
92 percent had lied to
their parents in the past year.
78 percent had lied to
their teachers.
More than 1 in 4 said
they would lie to get a job.
Now, I am not saying that young people are the only
ones who have trouble with lying. Consider the corporate world. Names like
Enron, WorldCom, and numerous accounting firms, to name just a few, are
populated with liars! Millions of Americans have suffered at their hands!
Should we not add to the list Bill Clinton and Martha Stewart?
God will judge liars! Proverbs 19:5 "A false
witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall
not escape." The Bible is clear, "Lying lips are abomination to the
LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight."
Proverbs 12:22
As Christians we must model truthfulness before a lying world!
Don’t shade the truth, don’t spin the truth, but speak the truth in love.
The Word says, "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man
truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another."
Ephesians 4:25
Parents must teach and model truthfulness and expose
and reject lying in themselves and their children.
We have just scratched the surface in this message. We
have seen that we must reject pride and walk and talk humility. We must
reject lying and walk and talk truthfulness. These are character traits
that are desperately lacking in our society today. Why? Because our
culture has an aversion to the absolutes taught in the Bible. But, when
biblical absolutes are rejected, a moral vacuum occurs and is filled by
everyone doing what is right in his or her own eyes. Then, the whole
society suffers. May we walk and talk Christian character.
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